Man City 2020/21 - General discussion

SER19

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We were never as bad as many made out in reality, just a little goal shy.

There will be no quadruple and no domination for the next few seasons either. The quad pretty much requires perfection and right now I'd snap your hand off to sew up and the league and win the league Cup nevermind the other two.

With regards to domination.
Chelsea under Conte win 13 league games in a row people said they were gonna dominate, they implode.
City under Pep get 198 pts in 2 seasons, people say gonna domiante, get pounded by Liverpool.
Just back in October people said the same Liverpool were gonna dominate for 5 years and boot Pep outta the league a failure.

It was always likely we'd pull away this season because we have essentially 2 teams.
2 players for every position so we can rotate and really not drop too much of a level. While there is no replacement for KDB, Bernardo is pretty good to have. No other team bar maybe PSG can afford to rotate like we do..
Options for the front 3: Marhez, Foden, Sterling, Jesus, Aguero, Bernardo and Torres.
Option for midfeild 3 : Rodri, Fernandinho, Gundo, KDB, Bernardo, Foden and Doyle.
We've probably got 3 of the 5 best CB's in the league in Dias, Stones and Laporte with a constantly injured Ake to come back and Eric Garcia who is a 20 year old Spain international as 5th choice. We've got Cancelo and Walker at RB, Zinchenko, Mendy, Ake and Laporte who can all play LB. Steffen is even a very capable keeper as no.2 to Ederson.
It really is this simple. When a United fan says it the accusation is bitterness or some tangent to discussing Uniteds own massive failures when trying to catch up, as if there are only 2 teams in England. But yes, this is the summary
 

Thunderhead

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Your observations and Thunderheads are unarguable
However if we are talking about the impact of our owners putting in money that gives us an unfair advantage, which appears to be the context (hence my question), the money they have made available is the net spend not the gross so that is the advantage we have.
For example we sold foden, an academy product, for £300M, then £300M of our gross spend is not money made available from having rich owners prepared to bankroll the club. At it's extreme, what about the club that spends a lot so has a big gross spend but has a net negative spend ?

Of course there is an element of luck as you've both referenced.

Plus for us, not only can we afford to dump players at a loss more quickly as one of you has said, but also we can afford to hold onto players like aguero or silva whereas other clubs might feel compelled to cash in. For us, we get no return on many of our best players because we have managed to keep them for so long they get to an age where there is no resale vaue

But to me that makes net spend even more valid, because again it gets to the heart of the argument of our owners pumping in more money than is realistic for most other clubs - you can surely only make those arguments by looking at net spend ?

I accept the net spend calculations are flawed for all kinds of reasons, just as to a lesser extent gross figures & current market value figures are flawed and therefore very arguable. But again, net spend is surely a more meaningful indication of the levels of money put into the club by the owners. Or is that not the point ? City's whole argument against FFP was the idea that an owner who wants to invest to grow a club should be encouraged not prevented. Again, surely that means net spend not gross ?
I can only think of Ronaldo who united had to cash in on, i can't think of 1 player from Madrid, Barca had no choice with Naymar, we lost Sane to Bayern.

I think with the exception of Aguero, in the past we've never had a player who the other clubs would want who would immediately improve the first XI now we have potentially 4 or 5 but it's come at a time of covid and Barca are skint.

Also nett spend doesn't allow for player costs

Cavani cost United nothing but will probably cost £10m in salary, united purchase Van de Beek for the same price as city pay for Ake, assuming they're on the same salary no difference in nett spend though if you use accounting practices United have probably spent 20% more (assuming no other players purchased), neither treks the whole story but nett spend ignores more IMO
 

kaiser1

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I can only think of Ronaldo who united had to cash in on, i can't think of 1 player from Madrid, Barca had no choice with Naymar, we lost Sane to Bayern.

I think with the exception of Aguero, in the past we've never had a player who the other clubs would want who would immediately improve the first XI now we have potentially 4 or 5 but it's come at a time of covid and Barca are skint.

Also nett spend doesn't allow for player costs

Cavani cost United nothing but will probably cost £10m in salary, united purchase Van de Beek for the same price as city pay for Ake, assuming they're on the same salary no difference in nett spend though if you use accounting practices United have probably spent 20% more (assuming no other players purchased), neither treks the whole story but nett spend ignores more IMO
I actually think wage bill is more reliable in measuring squad quality than transfer fees paid. Lewandoski, Sane were bought for less than market value but their salary is likely a true reflection of their abilities. You can sign Messi on a free transfer yet pay him 1M per week

Every player gets a salary, not everyone gets a transfer fee
 
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teteus

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Sure they can. Remember when they didn’t have money? City fans talked all sorts of shit about how hollow United are and that they’d never want to throw money around like us.

As for the notion some are peddling that jealousy is the only driver of people disliking City’s ascendance, and that we’d love for sheikhs to inject money into United; you’re wrong. Some of us actually would prefer for our club to not be used to rehabilitate the image of disgusting regimes. Is the idea of caring about common decency over football that alien to you guys?
The world of football is indecent and disgusting even without those regimes in the picture. I recommend looking at all my comments in the previous two or three pages.
 

jontheblue

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I have no clue. Transfer net spending is transfer expense minus transfer income. It is an indicator how much the club spends in player transfer, or investment in squad, whatever you want to call it, in a season. In the balance sheet that's how it looks. Transfer net spending and wage budget give me an idea how much money the club invest in its team. It doesn't include everything like investment in academy infrastructure for junior player development, but it gives us an idea.
Exactly my thoughts
 

BlackBinBag

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City posted £535.2m revenue in 2018/19. Like it or not, we bring in money.
Wasn't it proven that Mansour was actually paying most of the Etihad sponsorship from his own pocket. He was in effect paying it anyway as Etihad is owned by his family. As of 17/18 £170M of your revenue has come from Abu Dhabi based sponsorship deals
 

Denis' cuff

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Even their fans are too embarrassed to support them in any numbers.

None will admit it but none of the Berts I know get overly excited about this lot.
 

BlackBinBag

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Even their fans are too embarrassed to support them in any numbers.

None will admit it but none of the Berts I know get overly excited about this lot.
Many of the old & new school Berts i know are delighted with the Mansour era. It gives many of them even greater satisfaction at the way they've done things. They take a perverse satisfaction in the clubs corruption & are fully bought in.

I think a large part of this is them never really having a place in the football pyramid. Due to their fan base & spending they could never be grouped to the small clubs, but their achievements were on a similar level. They didn't belong with medium sized clubs as they were constantly up & down the divisions. They are now competing with the Elite but don't really belong their due to buying there place at the table & having no heritage.

They have now found their place with PSG. This is a Super Elite where entry is impossible without State backing.
 

adexkola

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Many of the old & new school Berts i know are delighted with the Mansour era. It gives many of them even greater satisfaction at the way they've done things. They take a perverse satisfaction in the clubs corruption & are fully bought in.

I think a large part of this is them never really having a place in the football pyramid. Due to their fan base & spending they could never be grouped to the small clubs, but their achievements were on a similar level. They didn't belong with medium sized clubs as they were constantly up & down the divisions. They are now competing with the Elite but don't really belong their due to buying there place at the table & having no heritage.

They have now found their place with PSG. This is a Super Elite where entry is impossible without State backing.
This sounds like a bunch of classist nonsense but for football clubs
 

K Stand Knut

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It can be spot on and nonsense at the same time. Like old money hating new money. It's a phenomenon, but from the outside... It's just a dick measuring contest.
Yes, fair point but it is spot on.

city, a bit like PSG, are an anomaly.

And a fairly dodgy one at that if you look at their finances.
 

Thunderhead

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Many of the old & new school Berts i know are delighted with the Mansour era. It gives many of them even greater satisfaction at the way they've done things. They take a perverse satisfaction in the clubs corruption & are fully bought in.

I think a large part of this is them never really having a place in the football pyramid. Due to their fan base & spending they could never be grouped to the small clubs, but their achievements were on a similar level. They didn't belong with medium sized clubs as they were constantly up & down the divisions. They are now competing with the Elite but don't really belong their due to buying there place at the table & having no heritage.

They have now found their place with PSG. This is a Super Elite where entry is impossible without State backing.

with respect, but what a load of absolute horseshit
 

jontheblue

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It wasn't so long ago we were being told that we could spend all the money we like, we'll only ever have mercenary misfits who never gel sufficiently to win anything

As that argument has been comprehensively destroyed, people just look for something else to throw at us

What's particularly ironic is that of course it was once United who were known as moneybags for having a rich sugar daddy
 

andyox

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Wasn't it proven that Mansour was actually paying most of the Etihad sponsorship from his own pocket. He was in effect paying it anyway as Etihad is owned by his family. As of 17/18 £170M of your revenue has come from Abu Dhabi based sponsorship deals
You should probably read the CAS decision: https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_6785_Decision.pdf.

You could even just read the title of the 2-page CAS decision press statement if you're short on time: https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_6785_Decision.pdf.
 

gibers

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First pep can't play his football in the mighty premier league. He successfully adapts his football and dominates.

Then he couldn't dominate like he did Spain and Germany, his points per game is higher than it was in both Spain and Germany.

Now people bring up the money when City had all this money before Pep came.

Ultimately, we should be competing with City. We've spent almost the same amount of money and the quality difference is stark. They are just properly organised. Even Klopp said we are like Disney Land ffs. All this complaining about their spending when we have done the same makes us look bitter. After seeing Liverpool win the league last season...

The whole structure of the club needs to change.
 

ThierryHenry14

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I have no problem with outside investment to clubs to increase the competitiveness of the league. If not for outside investment, Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Man City and Everton won't be where they are today. How can a club like Leicester or Everton climb up the table/challenge for title, increase their marketability, thus generate more revenue without external investment? The big clubs are against it only because they want to protect their leading position in the league, and protect their revenue.

Edit
in the 90s, all the players want to go to Man Utd, now it is no longer the case, which is very good for the league.
 

Inigo Montoya

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First pep can't play his football in the mighty premier league. He successfully adapts his football and dominates.

Then he couldn't dominate like he did Spain and Germany, his points per game is higher than it was in both Spain and Germany.

Now people bring up the money when City had all this money before Pep came.

Ultimately, we should be competing with City. We've spent almost the same amount of money and the quality difference is stark. They are just properly organised. Even Klopp said we are like Disney Land ffs. All this complaining about their spending when we have done the same makes us look bitter. After seeing Liverpool win the league last season...

The whole structure of the club needs to change.
Wasn’t it Woody who said the Disney bit?
 

ExecutionerWasp001

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It wasn't so long ago we were being told that we could spend all the money we like, we'll only ever have mercenary misfits who never gel sufficiently to win anything

As that argument has been comprehensively destroyed, people just look for something else to throw at us

What's particularly ironic is that of course it was once United who were known as moneybags for having a rich sugar daddy
I don't believe anybody would have said you were not going to win the league when it became known the levels of investment you were to receive. Chelsea & Blackburn both went down the same route & won the league. It's incomprehensible to think a club backed by a state isn't going to win things.

It's clutching at straws to compare Mansour & Gibson's respective roles. Gibson donated money to save the club. There was no money for transfers. An academy had to be formed to bring players through. In the end Gibson invested £30K which is £500K in today's money. You are still reliant on Mansour's funding 13 years after takeover. With infrastructure, transfers & wages you have had well over £2 Billion of investment.
 

Giggsyking

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It wasn't so long ago we were being told that we could spend all the money we like, we'll only ever have mercenary misfits who never gel sufficiently to win anything

As that argument has been comprehensively destroyed, people just look for something else to throw at us

What's particularly ironic is that of course it was once United who were known as moneybags for having a rich sugar daddy
:lol:
You do realise our owners take money out of the club and pay part of (their debt) every year about 100m. That is more than 1b pounds since Mansour took over city and poured 2b into city.
 

SER19

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Pushed close tonight :lol: luckily they somehow found the energy to dominate the last 20
 

Wayne's World

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Congrats to the United Arab Emirates for winning the league. And special thanks to FIFA to allow them to cheat and get away with it.

When they win the quadruple this season, that will be the death of football for me
 

Borys

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I feckin hate playing Pep teams. Gives me CL final throwbacks when I felt literally sick of how dominant his Barca were.

Luckily I will miss the game so I'll only re-watch if we get a result.
 

Ludens the Red

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I tell you what. I hope a lot of United fans on here now understand the benefits of having a squad full of top competition for places.

All those complaints about signing the likes of Zlatan, Sanchez, Lukaku, Halaand and Cavani because it would ‘block the development’ of Greenwood, Martial and Rashford. Or that idiot from Rotherham who told me that signing Zlatan was forcing Rashford and Martial to compete with each other.
 

croadyman

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Congrats to the United Arab Emirates for winning the league. And special thanks to FIFA to allow them to cheat and get away with it.

When they win the quadruple this season, that will be the death of football for me
Yeah I feel it will be a sad day in this great game too but looks like there is no one to stop them
 

Godfather

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Head and shoulders above anyone else in the league at the moment. To think some of us believed we were in a title race
 

sullydnl

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At least it isn't Liverpool walking the league again, I suppose.
 

Burkeovic

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Doping (PED) i am 100% sure this team is full of it and there is a long history of it with Guardiola.
 

Sergioooo

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Congrats to the United Arab Emirates for winning the league. And special thanks to FIFA to allow them to cheat and get away with it.

When they win the quadruple this season, that will be the death of football for me
Is this where you go off for a nice cry?
 

teteus

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Congrats to the United Arab Emirates for winning the league. And special thanks to FIFA to allow them to cheat and get away with it.

When they win the quadruple this season, that will be the death of football for me
Yeah I feel it will be a sad day in this great game too but looks like there is no one to stop them
I give up, some people will never accept some things. I wrote much about this topic in the previous pages, yet it seems guys like you never read. No one proclaimed death of football after Berlusconi took over Milan in the 80s, why would him be ok, but not a sheik? And, in modern football, the only way to compete with top clubs is by huge amounts of money. The honest route is impossible, see Ajax. And even clubs who aren't owned by sheiks are still often sponsored by them. In modern football, all money is dirty and we shouldn't draw a line of what corruption is ok and what isn't.
 

Nicolarra90

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I give up, some people will never accept some things. I wrote much about this topic in the previous pages, yet it seems guys like you never read. No one proclaimed death of football after Berlusconi took over Milan in the 80s, why would him be ok, but not a sheik? And, in modern football, the only way to compete with top clubs is by huge amounts of money. The honest route is impossible, see Ajax. And even clubs who aren't owned by sheiks are still often sponsored by them. In modern football, all money is dirty and we shouldn't draw a line of what corruption is ok and what isn't.
I'd still rather be Ajax... Or us.